The Health Coach Sales Lab

One-on-One, Group, or Membership: Choosing Your Ideal Coaching Container

• Jamie Jones

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Choosing between one-on-one coaching, group programs, or memberships isn't just about picking a format—it's about understanding your business stage and what kind of container you can confidently lead right now. Each model requires different skills, methods, and business foundations that must be built in the right sequence for sustainable growth.

• One-on-one coaching builds your actual methodology and shows you how people really change
• Working directly with clients exposes your weaknesses early so you can address them before scaling
• Group programs require a completely different skillset beyond just coaching multiple people at once
• Your process must be repeatable and structured before running effective group experiences
• Memberships are often romanticized but require long-term engagement beyond just content
• Start with one-on-one if you're still clarifying your method and voice
• Move to groups once your method is solid and you've worked with many one-on-one clients
• Consider memberships only after building trust, rhythm, and a loyal audience
• Choose the format that lets you lead with clarity, confidence, and consistency

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Jamie:

Hello everyone, welcome back to the show. This week we are going to be talking about should you do a membership or a group program or a one-on-one program, and just some thoughts about which one to choose first and which part of your business you should be in to choose what you know, all those kind of things. So I know it requires a lot of thought and some things sound like the easier options, but you might be surprised. So let's dive in and talk about that. You know, because while it seems like a practical decision, which format to choose and what kind of offer to lead with, is actually a much deeper question about your business, about your energy and also about how you want to grow in yourself and in your business. So if you've been sitting in that place feeling the pressure to create something, but you are unsure where to start, I totally understand and I want to walk with you through this step by step. So the truth is, this isn't just about picking a model. It's about understanding each model and there's so much more to it and also knowing what to ask of yourself and being honest about what kind of container you can actually hold right now, because they're all so very different. So let's start with where most people do, which is one-on-one.

Jamie:

One-on-one coaching gets talked about a lot because it's the obvious first step and in a lot of ways it is. It is the most intimate, it's the most flexible, the least logically complicated, which is very true. And you also don't need a curriculum or a learning portal. You don't need to launch to a list of thousands of people, you just need one person ready to say yes, and that is seems to be the easiest option. But beyond the ease you know of entry, here's why I actually recommend it. It is where you build your method and that is really important. And I don't mean you know your three phase framework or your pretty signature program. I mean the real bones of your work, what you see, what patterns show up in your clients, what actually helps them move forward and what doesn't.

Jamie:

One-on-one is where you learn how people actually change. It is where you learn to hold space, not just teach. That is a really big thing I see in health coaches. And it's also where you learn to say what you do in a way that lands, because your clients are sitting right there, they're asking questions, they're bringing their resistance and they are looking for clarity in real time and there's no hiding in one-on-one work, which is why it is so valuable. And that doesn't mean it's easy. If you are someone who struggles with boundaries or with over-delivering or with pricing your work, one-on-one work will show you every crack, it will bring your people pleasing to the surface and it will also ask you to be clearer than you have ever been. But in my opinion, those are good problems to face and they are good problems to face early, because when you are working through them now, you build that kind of foundation that actually supports scaling later. And if you've never worked with a client before like a real client that's not your family or a friend or someone you worked with for free in school, or if you've ever only coached inside of programs or through DMs or in practice settings, I really it will give you the clearest view of your own voice and your own value. I really believe that.

Jamie:

So let's move on to group programs next. Group programs are where things start to feel more expansive. You are able to work with more people. You are stepping into your role as a teacher or a guide, not just a coach. You are stepping into your role as a teacher or a guide, not just a coach, and it's also exciting because it feels like you're finally building something that's bigger than you. But group work isn't just one-on-one work in a different format. It is a completely different skill set, and that is because now you're holding space for multiple people, all with different needs, with different personalities, with different pacings, and you still have to lead them through a shared experience that feels cohesive and valuable for everyone in the room. And this is where things can fall apart really quickly. If your content isn't layered with intention, if you haven't figured out where people tend to get stuck or what kinds of support they need at each phase of the journey, you know, if you don't yet have a clear method that you can teach and not just coach through, and if all of that is true, then running a group is going to feel like herding cats and it's going to feel like you're being reactive instead of rooted and you'll be answering questions on the fly instead of guiding from structure.

Jamie:

There are so many reasons, and the result is that your people might finish your program, but they won't leave with the transformation that they can feel in their hands, that they can name, and that really matters. So I want you to ask yourself do I have a process that's repeatable enough to deliver to more than one person at a time that they can name and that really matters. So I want you to ask yourself do I have a process that's repeatable enough to deliver to more than one person at a time? Because that's a really important question. And if the answer is yes, if you've worked with enough clients one-on-one to feel grounded in that method, a group could be a really smart next step. But do not choose it just because you're tired of one-on-one work. Choose it because you're ready to lead something bigger and you've built the clarity to back it up. And that's really big. So I think that a lot, you know, a lot of times we can get stuck wanting group programs because obviously it's making more money, it's coaching more people with the same amount of time. But it is not. You know, like I said, it's not just doing one-on-one work in a group setting. There's a lot more layers to it.

Jamie:

All right, let's move on to memberships. I really get why people love the idea. It is recurring, it's scalable, it gives you the sense of community and ongoing support. It sounds dreamy, right? It's a business model that pays you monthly while you keep showing up in a more spacious way. And that is so great.

Jamie:

But the hard truth is that memberships are often romanticized way too early, and that's because a membership really requires long-term engagement, and long-term engagement requires more than content. It is I'll say that again long-term engagement requires more than content. It requires say that again Long-term engagement requires more than content. It requires momentum, it requires trust and it requires a reason for people to stay. And if you haven't built a body of work yet, if you don't know what people keep coming back for with you and what they actually need from you, after just the first few weeks of excitement wears off, then your membership will become a constant hustle just to keep people in the door. It's really difficult to run a membership. Actually, you'll spend more time convincing people to stay than you actually do leading people.

Jamie:

So if you are still building your audience, if you are still building your audience, if you are still figuring out your message, if you don't yet have a strong rhythm and how you deliver content and support, please don't start here, because you're just setting yourself up for failure and I really don't want that for you. It's not that it's a bad model, it's. It's great. It's just the hardest one to start with, and I say this as someone who has run a membership for over a decade. It is it's not just content, it requires constant, constant work and you really have to have an engaged audience to even have enough people in the door that make it worth it. So definitely would never start with a membership. This comes later, after you know you get your message, you get your model, you have your audience that keeps coming back to you and that knows you and that trust what you do and like what you do it. It definitely isn't step one and it's so wonderful when it when you do get to that step.

Jamie:

But I see this a lot. I get that question a lot from coaches like um, especially because I provide content done for you, content and programs and stuff like that for coaches and I've done that for a very long time and I hear all the time um, you know, if I just throw all this in a membership, I think that would be great, but it is not that simple. If it was, you would all be doing it. So, um, I really hate the idea of anyone working through setting something that like that up, because it requires a lot of time and, you know, just launching it to crickets. It's a real big bummer and I and I think that you could number one make so much more money starting with one-on-one work and also figuring out all the stuff that we've been talking about. So what should you do?

Jamie:

I think if you haven't worked with a client yet, you need to start with one-on-one full stop, like that is my answer. If you are still getting clear on your method, you start with one-on-one. If your method is solid, if you've worked with a lot of one-on-one clients and you're ready to lead a group experience, then build a group program. If you have been doing this for a long time, if you've built trust and rhythm and a body of work that people already follow consistently, then you can consider a membership. And all of these formats work when the timing is right, and your job isn't to pick the most exciting one. It's to pick the one that lets you lead well, the one that creates results, the one that builds trust and also the one that sustains your energy, so that you can keep showing up without burning out or without rebuilding your business every couple of months because it didn't work the first time.

Jamie:

So when you're asking yourself which one should I start with and which one should I launch. The real question is what kind of experience can I actually lead right now with clarity, with confidence and with consistency? So answer that and your decision gets a whole lot easier. All right, I really want to hear what you're thinking after hearing these things. Hop in my group and my Facebook group or send me an email. All of that is in the show notes here, so I would love to hear from you and hear what your next steps are. If you want to chat through those things, we're all here for you and I will see you next week.